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5 July 2017 Environmental Drivers of Seasonal Patterns of Host Utilization by Culiseta melanura (Diptera: Culicidae) in Florida
Erik M. Blosser, Cynthia C. Lord, Tanise Stenn, Carolina Acevedo, Hassan K. Hassan, Lawrence E. Reeves, Thomas R. Unnasch, Nathan D. Burkett-Cadena
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Abstract

Field studies were carried out in four Florida counties to investigate winter and spring ecology of host use by Culiseta melanura (Coquillet), the primary vector of eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus (EEEV) in North America. Bloodmeal analysis by PCR was used to identify 233 host bloodmeals, which mainly originated from birds (78.5%) and reptiles (17.2%), primarily Anolis spp. lizards. Across counties, the percentage of bloodmeals from reptiles (7–37% depending upon county) increased with increasing day length and temperature in the spring. Multiple logistic regression revealed that differences in reptile host use across collection sites were largely explained by differences in average day length and temperature on the day of collection, and is probably owing to environment-driven behavioral patterns of ectothermic animals. Although past studies have demonstrated reptile biting by epizootic vectors of EEEV, including Culex (Melanoconion) spp., this is the first study to demonstrate widespread and common feeding upon ectothermic hosts by Cs. melanura. This work suggests that reptiles, particularly anole lizards, play a role in the ecology of EEEV in Florida either as amplifying hosts or as noncompetent hosts which dilute vector feedings thereby suppressing transmission. Detailed laboratory studies investigating impacts of environmental variables (temperature and photoperiod) on EEEV competence of anoles are needed to assess whether these animals support virus amplification.

© The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
Erik M. Blosser, Cynthia C. Lord, Tanise Stenn, Carolina Acevedo, Hassan K. Hassan, Lawrence E. Reeves, Thomas R. Unnasch, and Nathan D. Burkett-Cadena "Environmental Drivers of Seasonal Patterns of Host Utilization by Culiseta melanura (Diptera: Culicidae) in Florida," Journal of Medical Entomology 54(5), 1365-1374, (5 July 2017). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjx140
Received: 21 April 2017; Accepted: 9 June 2017; Published: 5 July 2017
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KEYWORDS
arbovirus
Culiseta
host use
lizard
reptile
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